On a very high usage rate for one so young, Russell was given the opportunity to lead the team, and did not. His own performance did improve slightly on his rookie numbers, but he took a lot of shots, of all kinds, and was not efficient on any of them. Russell's scoring game is mostly the jump shot, and often the jump shot off the dribble, an aspect of the game for which he is good at creating space, yet not one in which he is yielding consistent form or results. The defence is worse, and for all the Manu Ginobili-like projections, Russell is currently closer to a prime Mike James. He does however have both plenty of talent, and plenty of time to put it together. The Nets may not have the talent, but they do have the time. So this is a good pairing.

Player Plan: Two years of rookie scale salary left. For his plentiful flaws, Russell represents the closest thing to a foundational piece going forward, and should be given every opportunity to succeed on the court. It is hereby noted that that’s what he received in two years in Los Angeles, and that it didn’t work there.

Note: Non-US teams that the player
has played for are, unless stated otherwise, from the top division in
that nation. If a league or division name is expressly stated, it's not
the top division. The only exceptions to this are the rare occasions where
no one league is said to be above the other, such as with the JBL/BJ League
split in Japan.

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